Will product made from yellow peas replace eggs?

A company has been creating food products derived from yellow peas to replace the eggs. The egg-equivalent product reportedly costs about $0.39 per pound, or less than half the cost of regular factory-farmed eggs.

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Eggs are stacked next to the grill June 24, 2014, at Jefferson University Hospital's cafeteria in Philadelphia. A company has been creating food products derived from yellow peas to replace the eggs.

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Hampton Creek Foods, a new business highlighted by CNBC as one of the 50 most disruptive companies in the world, hopes to offer a new alternative to raising chickens for egg production.

Hampton Creek CEO Josh Tetrick began developing products that could be used in place of eggs in 2011. They already offer a mayonnaise-equivalent and a line of cookie dough, called Just Mayo and Just Cookies, using an egg-like ingredient derived from yellow peas.

“Not only are we more sustainable, and humane, but we create products that are healthier and more affordable for people - everywhere,” says Morgan Oliveira at Hampton Creek. “We think it's backwards that most healthier food today is usually more expensive, inconvenient, and less tasty.”

The company’s egg-equivalent product reportedly costs around US $0.39 cents per pound, or less than half the cost of regular factory-farmed eggs. This price point, according to Hampton Creek, is what makes the product a viable alternative for big brands, like Crocker and Pillsbury, both owned by General Mills. Says Oliveira, “even those who were initially critical have contacted us asking to talk about how they could work with us!”

Hampton Creek has set up distribution deals with Safeway, Costco, and Whole Foods to sell their Just Mayo and Just Cookies products. “We've had a lot of support from small mom & pop stores, to large corporations wanting to partner with us because they believe in what we're doing,” says Oliveira.

The company is already making its offerings available internationally, and recently launched in Hong Kong.